Team Fortress: Platoon
by SpiritDragon95
Summary: Scout and 8 other men are recruited to the U.S. Army's Green Berets to fight in Vietnam instead of the Mann co. wars. Them and the platoon try to survive Vietnam from the blistering hot jungles to the urban city of Hue. (New Chapter is up!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I decided to make a fanfiction on Team Fortress 2. I'll update my Black mesa story as well. I'm still thinking of ideas for it though. I had this team fortress 2 story in my head for quite a while. I don't mean to steal any ideas. Let me know and i'll take the story down.**

**Please review!**

**Enjoy.**

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_November 31, 1967_

The sun rose over the horizon of the Boston neighborhood. Scout groaned as the sunlight reached his room and entered through the window. He slowly sat up in his bed. He yawned and stretched before leaving his room. He silently closed the door behind him. His mother and brothers were sleeping and he didn't want to wake up any of them. Especially his fourth brother. He was like a bear if he was waken up during his sleep. It was 6:34 and Scout was pretty hungry.

'Can't start the day with an empty stomach.' He thought to himself. He slowly dragged himself to the kitchen. Without dropping anything, he balanced the bowl on his nose. Spun the open cereal box on his finger, and did the same with his milk on his left finger. He put them down, and put the cereal then the milk in the bowl, he got a spoon and began eating. out of boredom, he decided to watch the TV with the volume put low. He was flipping through music channels and Saturday morning cartoons.

"_There's something happening here..."_

_"What's up doc?"_

Suddenly, something on the news caught scout's eye.

"_The government is now sending draft forms to men from ages 30 to 18 all around America..."_

Scout silently began panicking. There better not be a mailman behind that door.

_Ding-Dong!_

His eyes had widened. He dare hoped it was just a package. He walked over and opened the door, and saw a mailman standing in front of the door.

"Hello, this belongs to..."

"Me?" Scout finished.

"Yep. It's a slip."

In the inside, he slowly began hypervertilating. He was to nervous to go to Vietnam. They were sending other forms to men and teenagers all around the country. But of out of all the people out there, why him? He was silently praying this wasn't a draft notice. He gulped before asking.

"Wh- Who s-sent this exactly?" He stuttered the question out.

"The government."

"W-What? What's it about?"

"I guess that's up to you to find out." The mailman then walked back to his truck and drove away. Scout opened the envelope. It was, indeed, a draft notice.

"No!

"NO!

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The scream echoed through the house. He didn't care if anyone heard him. He bet all the teenagers in the country had screamed in unison with him. He collapsed onto his knees. He began sobbing. A babyish thing to do, he knew, but anyone else would be like him if they got a draft notice to fight in some jungle overseas and fight a hidden enemy. He had seen clips of soldiers in Vietnam. Some of them were teenagers, like him. He saw them being dragged through the streets. He wondered if his body would dragged through the streets, after dying maybe a quick death, or a slow painful death by a wound in his stomach. Moments later his other and seven brothers had come downstairs.

"What's with all the noise?" His mother asked. Scout just continued sniffing and wiping at his eyes.

"Mom, it's horrible..."

Instantly the atmosphere had changed. Tension was rising as scout was about to say his answer.

"I'm going to Vietnam."


	2. Chapter 2: Boot camp and shipping out

**Here is the second chapter for the story.**

**By the way, I'm making a name for scout in this chapter, as I don't know his real name.**

**Sorry if this chapter doesn't show as much boot camp, but I decided to show part of what it's like**

**Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Team Fortress 2**

**Enjoy!**

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**"**My name is Drill Sergeant Barnes, I will be the man that trains you to** stay alive** when you go to the jungle as all of you call it. By then you'll be hardened Soldiers, ready for anything, and a fear to the Vietcong. But until then, you're all **WORTHLESS!** You're not even human beings. The only good you'll do without me is shake in fear and not fire a single bullet until your brains get blown out and you'll DIE! You will not laugh, you will not cry! You will not speak until spoken to, you will not SLEEP until told to so. IS THAT GOING THROUGH YOUR SKULLS?!" The sergeant shouted so loud it sounded like it echoed through the whole base.

"SIR YES SIR!" The men shouted back.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! I COULDN'T HEAR YOU!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

The drill sergeant walked up and down the line trying to find a recruit to shake up.

'Probably trying to find his first victim.' Scout thought to himself.

The sergeant then began walking over to him.

'Oh shoot.' Scout stood tall and didn't show any emotion.

"What in the world is your name, sonny?" The sergeant asked in a loud tone.

Scout couldn't breath for a second, but then finally found his voice.

"Sir Private Travors sir!" Scout shouted back.

"Travors huh? Sounds like Private worthless to me! Where are you from anyways?!"

"Sir, Boston, Massachusetts, sir!"

"Boston eh? Then where's your slang?!"

"SIR?"

"SIR WHAT?!" The sergeant grew impatient.

"Were you about to call me something?! Come on! Spit it out! I dare you to look me in the eye and say that to my face!" The sergeant was literally shouting at scout now.

"Were you going to call me something?"

"SIR NO SIR!"

"hmph." The sergeant turned around to find someone. Not before spinning around and punching scout in the gut.

Scout was on the ground gasping for air, during then he was thinking.

'This is going to be a rough 6 weeks.' He thought as he stood back up.

_2 weeks later_

Everyone other than scout was punched in the gut. He met a few more people that he had nicknames for. Soldier, Spy, Engineer, Pyro, Demoman, Medic, Heavy, and Sniper. He had just finished weapons training, Scout was exhausted because of how he had to do weapons training. And hauling an M60, M14 AND M16 was not an easy thing to do. His arms were tired. He could barely feel them.

_4 weeks later_

Scout was getting more nervous by each passing day. Tonight was the night before they shipped out to Vietnam, and he was more scared then he ever was in his life. He probably wouldn't come back. He would probably go missing. He would probably... He couldn't think about that right now. He was awake for 2 hours after lights out. He finally closed his eyes and drifted into the sleep he deserved after 6 weeks.

He woke up to the sound of roll call.

"Alright everyone up!"

Scout stood at attention with his comrades at his sides.

"Today is the day you're shipped out. I understand some of you may not come back. But here you are. All of you are now soldiers. Ready to fight the Vietcong. Ready to go into battle. I, and this country and Army salutes you all." The Drill sergeant and all of them had saluted each other, and then headed out.

They arrived at the airbase4 hours later.

'Onward.' Scout thought as he boarded the plane.


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome to Vietnam

**Here is the third chapter of the story where they finally make it into combat.**

**Please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Team Fortress 2**

**Enjoy!**

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_Somewhere over Vietnam_

"I don't get this... why do we need parachutes if this plane's gonna land at an airfield near **Hue?**" Scout asked one of his comrades onboard the plane. It was currently 3,000 feet in the air and it's pilots' objectives was to land at an airfield near Hue.

"Because, if this thing gets shot down enroute, we'll need these things in the case of an unflyable plane." The Sergeant answered.

"Thanks for answering..." Scout replied. Underneath the uniform and helmet, he was still the 18 year old kid from Boston that was shaking from fear.

"I highly doubt that'll happen though." Soldier said.

Just as he said that, the men heard a woosh sound and saw aa flak in the distance. It was night time outside and the men were nervous about the plane being shot down without them knowing. The only light projected was the half second flashes of the cannons in the distance.

Scout took a deep breath and tried to keep it together. Then the woosh sound got closer, and in less a second, the rocket hit the plane's engine and it started going down.

Scout was screaming. Soldier was screaming. Engineer was screaming. Everyone was screaming. The aircraft then caught fire and smoke came in. Making the men cover their faces with their uniforms.

"Stand up and Hook up!" The sergeant shouted as the red light flicked on. They did as they were told, until they felt another explosion and a breeze was coming behind them.

"It's tearing apart!" Just as the private said that, the planes half disconnected, leaving only half the plane left. They were all clinging on to the static line above them. Everything went in slow motion for Scout for half a second, until he saw his comrades being sucked out. He saw the other planes outside, on fire and crashing into one another. He saw the dozen paratroopers outside. He took a deep breath, and let go. The sergeant was sucked out along with him before being scattered. He saw the half of what was a C-47 plummet to the ground. He was spinning in mid air, until his parachute deployed. He felt weightless as he saw the mid-air disasters happening around him. He looked down a few seconds later to find the ground closer. Then, a bullet pierced the ropes holding him and the parachute together and he fell the last 15 feet into a tree and fell through the branches, hitting the ground with a thud. He blacked out.

_The next morning..._

Scout woke up to find his weapon next to him. He picked up his M-16 and readied it. He slowly stood up and had his weapon readied. He took two steps before he heard footsteps coming from his right. He turned, aiming down the sights of the assault rifle and saw... Solly. That was Soldier's nickname. He could barely recognize him. His face was smeared with dirt. His uniform was torn up and the top half of his body was exposed. His was holding his M-60 single handedly and lowered it as soon as he saw Scout. Scout did the same with his weapon.

"Solly?"

"Scout?"

"Have you seen anyone else from our platoon?" Scout asked Soldier. Unfortunately, he shook his head from side to side, qualifying it was a negative.

"Oh man..." Scout said.

"We should get moving." Soldier broke the silence after a few moments.

"Right behind ya." Scout followed Soldier as he followed him to their first objective.

_Find everyone else._

Just as they began, clouds began forming, and it started raining.

"Oh come on." Scout complained. He just ignored it. After an hour of walking the sun finally came out, and they walked to a clearing.

"I don't trust this..." Soldier slowly said. Scout was nervous beyond belief and he slowly crouched and walked behind Soldier, his M-16 readied. Just as they took a step, they heard shouting in a foreign language, and then there was gunfire.

"AMBUSH!"


	4. Chapter 4: Finding the airfield

**Here's the fourth chapter of the story.**

**Please review.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 4: Finding the Airfield

"AMBUSH!"

Yet again, everything went in slow motion. Scout and Scout dove for the dirt, and took cover behind a broken log. The bullets whistled around them and hit he ground in front and beside them. The scout was in shock for a few seconds, while Soldier got his M60 and began firing at the hidden Vietnamese hidden in the bushes and tree line. His bullet belt was moving and rattling and the barrel of the weapon was smoking as he fired the M60. Scout snapped out of the shock, and he crouched just showing his weapon and eyes above the log. He began firing in unison with Soldier. He fired 4 shots before he heard a scream of pain coming from behind the tree he fired at. He saw a body fall over from it and landed on the ground. He saw the injured man's comrades rush over to see if they could help. But at that moment, Scout couldn't stop and think. He kept firing and killed the men at the wounded soldier's attention. After a few minutes of gunfire and shouting, the ambush had come to a complete stop as the rest of the Vietcong had been shot, not by Scout or Soldier, but by their own comrades.

They stepped out. The group included of only Pyro, Heavy, and Spy.

"Have any of you guys seen anyone else from the squad?" Scout knew what the answer would be, but he just wanted to at least try and think there was some hope that the platoon was still together.

"Nyet. No single sighting." Heavy had replied. They all looked around and found the ambush spot to be a massacre. Scout wasn't paying attention, but some Vietcong had snuck out the bushes and almost killed them both, which was the reason there were bodies littered around outside the tree line.

"We get moving shall we?" Heavy broke the silence. The rest nodded their heads, and they continued to where ever they thought they needed to go to get to the airfield. While they were walking, Scout tripped over a corpse. It was the man he killed earlier. He saw him and the Vietcong weren't so different at all like they intended. Scout was on one knee, balancing himself by his assault rifle. He felt different after seeing his first kill. He felt a chill up his spine. He didn't feel like himself anymore. He felt as if he just turned from the innocent 18 year old teen he used to be, to a killer.

He then turned to catch up with the rest of the men. He took one last look at the corpse before continuing.

_Hours later..._

The men had begun to grow tired. They were walking in a straight line. Heavy was in the back, with Soldier in the front.

Their feet had grown sore, and they had bags under their eyes. Sure they had only been walking for 5 hours, but walking through a hazard filled jungle with a bunch of highly trained men patiently awaiting to jump out and kill you really took an effect on them. They eventually got to the point where they were dragging their feet. Scout was chewing his gum, he was making bubbles while making a angry scowl. Soldier was lifting and lowering his toothpick while he was flipping his holster open and closed while leaning his M60 against his shoulder. Heavy was just messing with the liftable grip on his mini gun. Spy was pulling the cap back on his revolver.

They began marching into a really foggy area, which was to hard to see in.

"Stay in your positions and keep walking forward!" Soldier said. They couldn't see him, but the way his voice sounded, they figured they were still marching the same way.

They walked out of the foggy area and eventually heard the sound of a helicopter above them. They looked up, hoping they were doing that on purpose here to rescue them, but instead it kept flying. They also took that as good sign.

"Follow the Huey!" Soldier shouted. They began sprinting to the direction the heli was flying. Even heavy managed to sprint at the same speed the rest of the group was going, even with a 47 pound mini gun patted against his stomach.

They eventually reached an airfield. They silently began cheering. Then they saw the sign.

_Hue airfield/Green Beret camp. Authorized personnel only._

They sprinted a little longer, and the soldiers were happy at the sight of the rest of the men in the platoon over at the base.

"Hey!" Soldier had shouted. The sergeant had sighted the men and had almost readied his weapon, then he lowered it as he saw the berets they wore on their heads.

The men eventually got close enough for the man to hear.

"Listen, we are the last missing men of the 5th Green Beret battalion!" Soldier had spoke for the group. The sergeant was surprised about how the men that were almost qualified as dead were standing in front of him. He turned as he spoke through the walkie talkie on his chest.

"Sir, I've found the last remaining men of the 5th battalion."

There was chatter heard before the soldiers were told where to go.

A few minutes later, the men had come through the door of the barracks, still looking the same.

"Hey, you guys made it!"

"Where were you guys?"

"You guys are wiped out!"

"Man, it looks like you guys had one heck of a day." The private of their battalion said.

The Soldier had chuckled.

"You have no idea." Soldier replied.

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**That's it for chapter four! Please review and I'll see you guys soon!**

**See you later!**


	5. Chapter 5: In the jungle

**Here's the 5th chapter for the story.**

**Nothing to announce.**

**Please review.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 5: In the Jungle

Scout was tired. He stumbled into the barracks with bags under his eyes. He collapsed into his bunk, not caring if his dirt covered boots were leaving marks, or if he didn't clean his rifle. He was too tired to move, let alone even think. He slowly closed his eyes. 5 seconds later they were snapped open. He suddenly didn't feel tired. He felt as if he was being seen through the window. A Vietnamese soldier looking through the scope of a scoped weapon. Silently waiting for him to make the wrong move for the right moment to pull the trigger. Scout looked outside to see the sun set. The sky was orange and purple, and the trees of the jungle on the hill miles from the base had made the scene even better. The sight was beautiful, he couldn't believe it was being destroyed and polluted by rockets, bullets, and gasoline from the aircraft and vehicles. He sat on the edge of his bunk and hung his head low.

_2 hours later_

Scout walked outside to find it peaceful and quiet outside. _Soon, _Scout thought_, It will be filled with the sound of troops running around with rifles being fired and explosions and gun powder filling the air, with rockets and mortars coming from the sky, with us not knowing when or where it will hit._ Scout sat down on the right side of his cabin, with his M16 at his side. He wasn't going to take chances coming outside un-armed. He decided to write to his brothers and mother. He pulled out a pen and paper, and a flashlight and began writing.

_Dear ma, and brothers._

_I'm here with my buds and Platoon out here in the jungle. I'm scared out of my mind and__ I see it in my buds eyes too. We all want to go home and we've only been here for two days. Just twelve months seems so far away. I guess all I have to do is keep my head low and obey orders. I really wish I could see you guys right now. I'm hungry, but it's not as bad as I am thirsty. I hope those choppers come in soon. I'm not sure how much longer any of us will survive with nothing but empty canteens and half eaten c rations. I'll see you guys soon._

_Love,_

_Pvt. Travors of 5th battalion._

Scout put away everything and put the letter in the office. He walked back out onto the gravel trail and saw the jungle in the distance. He saw the sun rising as he was looking over to the trees. Just then he saw a bright light pass by where he was looking

Scout's eyes widened and he whipped out his M16 and aimed. Before he could pull the trigger, the sniper had shot the ground right in front of his toe and Scout dove to the ground firing his rifle. All the lights had turned on and then mortars had been dropped. A rocket landed 16 yards away from Scout and he got up and ran to the side of his hut. The platoon then ran out and saw Vietcong soldiers outside near the base. Moments later, what scout had thought about earlier was happening.

"They're everywhere!"

"Sniper!"

"Medic!"

"I'm hit!"

"Get to the trenches!"

"Get to cover!"

Everything was being shouted at the same time as gunfire and explosions were going off. Scout was crouched beside the wall, and saw Demo man rush next to him.

"Oy, woot in tha world happened Scoot?!" Demoman shouted.

"I don't know! I was outside and a shot rang out, and this happened!" Scout shouted back. Fear masked his voice as he moved from shelter for half a second, fired 4 shots, and came back from his position. " I didn't expect this to happen! But of course, there was a sniper!"

Just as he said that a voice rang out.

"Where's the sniper?!" A private shouted. He was against cover too. "We have 2 snipers out in the hills and we need a scoped weapon for that job!"

Sniper then showed up, diving behind a boulder.

"That can be taken care of!" Sniper shouted. He raised himself so only his eyes and Rifle were visible above his cover.

A shot rang out seconds later, coming from the Sniper's weapon. He shifted his rifle to the next target and another shot rang out.

"Haha-" He was interrupted by a bullet whizzing by his head. "Gaaahh-" Another bullet whizzed by his head, which knocked his boonie hat off.

"Ok! There are too many snipers!" He shouted as he put his Boonie hat back on.

"Need some help here!" The familiar voice of Solly, who was Soldier, was heard from the gunshots and explosions from what was now a battlefield. Scout rushed over, and dove into the trench.

Soldier turned his attention to the 18 year old crouched in front of him. "I need you to help me fire that mounted M60 at those Vietcong over at that treeline!" Soldier said nothing more as he turned his attention to where he was shooting.

The private had moved the M60 and pulled the trigger. There were 4 shells on the ground. 8. 15.

He continued firing, and then he had to reload. The gun had overheated previously and now he had to put more ammo. He fumbled through his pocket for his gloves, but he didn't feel anything.

"Ah come on." Scout whispered angrily. He then took a deep breath and placed his bare hands on the weapon.

"Agh! Oh gosh!" Scout shouted in pain as he reloaded the piping hot machine gun. When he finished reloading he began firing again. Soon the gunfire died down and the rockets had stopped being launched.

Scout was breathing heavily, sweat was dripping all over his forehead and behind his ears. Some got into his eyes, which stung, but he ignored it. He stood out the trench along with soldier and they looked around. There were bodies lying all over the ground, rifles littered everywhere. Medics were running around with men on stretchers as Hueys and Choctaws were flying to the base. Demo man had lowered his M79, Heavy took the chance to clean his mini gun, and Sniper was still behind the boulder. It was a disaster. He saw Vietnamese soldiers retreating from the tree lines, but they weren't firing. Scout saw a body being dragged away. A teenage Vietcong soldier. He heard the sounds of Helicopters flying in and out back and forth. He hung his head low. a corporal walked by the two as he headed to the office. Scout silently followed the man and leaned against the closed door.

_Casualties... 18 men. Wounded... 5._

Scout was shocked he dragged himself and sat outside of the cabin, his dog tags waving in the light breeze. He couldn't help but silently wish for this to be over. He couldn't take it.

He then went back into the hut along with his other comrades.


	6. Chapter 6: Replacements

**Here's the new chapter for the story.**

**Please review.**

**Enjoy!**

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_'God, I'm tired_._' _Scout thought. It had been 5 hours after the battle and everyone in the hut was silent. Scout was looking down to the ground. He wanted to go home real badly. He was only thinking about two things. The second being how he was going to stay alive. He shook his head. He couldn't believe all those men died because he was just sending a message home. But he had no time to think of that, as he saw the sun slowly coming up. The other men silently woke up and rose from their slumber. Some stretching. Some picking up and cleaning their assault rifles. Scout woke up 30 minutes before everyone else. He sat up from the bed and got up from his bunk. He put his dog tags around his neck, picked up his M16 and walked outside. Just then, a rumbling noise was heard and the gates to the camp opened. Scout payed his attention to the cargo truck rolling in and saw at least 15 soldiers. Some of the berets in their camp had finished their tour of duty and were heading home now. The leaving berets got on the truck and they all saluted. They then left, with the truck speeding away. The men saw the replacements that got off the vehicle earlier, and some of the replacements were teenagers. The lieutenant then showed up and barked who they were.

"These here are our new replacements! Meet Pvt. Ramirez, Cpl. Miller...

After 13 names the lieutenant came to the last 2 soldiers.

Sgt. _Gordon Freeman_ II, and Pvt. _Tommy Vercetti_!" He finished.

After that the tired soldiers had went back in, the last two replacements were in scout's unit, so they both walked in along with him. The two new replacements looked nervous walking in. Seeing all the tired berets, mud covered faces. Blood stained uniforms. Glares. Tommy gulped before sitting in his bunk. Out of nervousness, he decided to inspect his rifle. After a few moments of silence, the soldiers returned to what they were doing, and the once silent hut was now filled with commotion. Scout decided to hold a conversation with Tommy, while Heavy went to talk to Gordon.

Scout walked up to Tommy, but his appearance made the private jump a little. Not because of how he showed up, but because of how he looked. He had dirt on his face, his undone jacket had blood stains on the right sleeve, and his hands looked like they were smothered with greese. But he actually burnt his hand on the M60 on the raid last night.

"Hey bud. How's 'Nam so far?" Scout asked Vercetti.

"It doesn't look simple at all..." He said in a shaken voice. It was obvious he was scared completely out of his mind.

"You tell me. I've been in this place for two days and this is how I end up. 15 Soldiers died the other night. Can you believe it? Two days here and this whole battalion has 15 dead people." Scout said it, showing devastation. Sure he had no time to show emotion, but he was still a teenager that had only seen part of what Vietnam had in store for him.

Tommy shook his head, and was breathing heavily. "I just don't want to die. I've only been in this place for an hour, and I already wanna go back home. When I got that draft notice, I knew it was all over for me."

"Same with me. I screamed in my house when that slip came through that door."

They then heard helicopters in the air.

"Say, do you know what month it is?" Scout asked. "I don't have a calendar. And I'm really tired."

"Yeah, it's, January 30th, 1968."

"Ok, thanks for letting me know. Nice to meet you.

"You too."

Scout got up and walked back to his bunk.

He then heard the sounds of helicopters flying overhead. He walked outside and saw cargo trucks and helicopters outside, just then a trumpet was heard, and all the soldiers were outside in less than a minute.

"We are now heading to a camp a little more close to Hue. We're heading in to Hue city now!" Just then, Hueys came in, blowing up dust.

"Get in the helis! Go go go!" Scout got in the Huey, and Tommy sat next to him. Moments later, the heli took off, with the base growing more and more distant as it flew away. Scout took a deep breath and looked outside. He hoped for this whole thing to end now.

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**Sorry if this chapter was a little rushed. I was getting a little into writers block in this one. I'll try to make the next chapter better next time though. See you guys later!**


	7. Chapter 7: Hue City

**Here's the next chapter of the story.**

**Most of it will be from Scout's POV. The rest is from Tommy Vercetti's POV.**

**I hope you guys enjoy.**

**Please review!**

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Scout's favorite sport was baseball. Of course it was. He was in love with the sport ever since he was a little kid. He would always practice batting. The first time wasn't too well. But he got better when he practiced more and more. He would always go to the park. No way was he going to practice when there was a cranky old neighbor that lived near him. He was always careful when he would practice in his lawn, because there was a possibility he would set the old man off if he ever broke his window. He didn't realize that until he was 8. Now that he's here in Vietnam, he felt as if he couldn't do any of that anymore while he was here. But he thought to himself, that he could always find a way.

Scout was woken with Tommy Vercetti yawning. Scout woke up and looked in the teen's direction.

"Tommy?" He asked. The private slowly turned around. "Oh, you're up." He yawned again. They said we were heading to some place, called Hue." He explained. Scout began dozing off, but he then shook his head. He looked out the window of the helicopter, every beat of the helicopter blades had made him think it represented his heartbeat. He was scared completely out of his mind, and ultimately relieved of how he was still alive after those close calls. He was now clutching his M16 instead of holding it normally. His palms were sweaty and he began breathing deeper than before. He had never been more scared in his life. He looked in awe at the passing terrain from above. He thought it was beautiful. He saw the sunset as the light had partially gotten into his eyesight. It made the scene look a lot better. Again, he felt as if he weren't fighting a war. But what made that feeling go away was the murder, gunshots, horror, death, torture, explosions, and continuous sound of cargo trucks, helicopters, fighter jets, and sounds of rapid footsteps as medics came rushing in with men on stretchers, loading them onto medevac helicopters. It would always ruin the moment, just when he was feeling relaxed. He felt as if it were some sort of message to not doze off and stay focused and aware of his surroundings. Scout noticed he was beginning to fall asleep, yet again. He closed his eyes for half a second. Then he was woken up by the feeling of the heli touching down. He sat up and clutched his weapon even harder.

'Alright, where are we?' He thought to himself. He looked around and saw he and the platoon were no longer in a jungle filled with reptiles and mammals. He found himself in an urban city.

"What are we doing in Hue city?" He asked. His question was answered by the sound of distant gunshots, explosions, and then the worst sound in the worst time... A siren. He was interrupted from listening to his surroundings by one of the corporals in front of him getting hit in the knee.

"Gaahh! It hurts!" The corporal fell over in pain as medics rushed in to save the young man. Just as he hit the floor, the rest of the squad had began running to cover, and the explosions and gunfire had gotten closer and closer, until they had finally got caught up in a firefight. The helicopters flew out of there, some being hit as they took off, some taken down mid-flight.

"I can't see anything!" A sergeant shouted. Soldier came out of cover and fired his M60 at where he thought the hidden enemies were, though it was hard to tell if they were there or not. Considering the smoke, and gunpowder, decorating the air with nothing but gray and a hideous smell.

Scout was behind a building, hyperventilating. He had released the mag he had used up, and was fumbling for the new magazine that was strapped on his belt. He managed to slide it into his assault rifle and had come from cover to aim. He couldn't see anything through the gray atmosphere, so he fired where the fellow soldiers were firing. He continued firing his rifle until he heard a click, signifying he had yet again run out of ammo. He took out the old mag and reached for the new one. Just as he slid the new one in, he saw Tommy next to him. He had been behind cover, not firing a single bullet ever since the battle started. For a second, Scout thought the private had shellshock, but he figured out he was just scared.

"Hey look, the Vietcong are withdrawing! I have a clear sight!" One of the soldiers shouted.

"Take 'em out!" Shouted the squad leader as he raised his M14 and started firing.

The men started shooting at the retreating Vietcong, dust kicking up from the impact of bullets. Everything went silent, and the men had spotted a few more enemy soldiers. The last of them were shot and there was only one more, but they couldn't spot the enemy soldier. Tommy came out from cover, and just as he raised his M16, the squad leader got shot in his stomach.

"Sarge!"

Tommy fired the rifle, and a second later, heard screaming coming from where he shot at. He shot at a tree, and saw a body fall from the top, and hit the ground with a thud. Right when the body hit the ground, someone called for a medic, and they came rushing in the moment they heard the cry.

Tommy had dropped his rifle, and fell on his knees. Sure he expected to lose his innocence. But he thought he would lay low, stay out of sight from snipers, and he'd be fine. But the thought came in, hitting him like a train. Or in this case, a bullet.

_I killed someone._

He began trembling and felt as if everything had just fallen apart. Just then, a sergeant came up to him.

"Hey, don't worry about it kid. You'll get used to it." He then walked away. What he said had made Tommy tremble even more. He then began thinking.

_'I'll get used to it? Get used to it?! No, I'm used to spraining my ankle, breaking my arm. But getting used to killing people? Killing them off and feeling like a physcotic, cold-blooded killer with no emotions? Just wiping out lives and having to go on with my life, like nothing happened? He's crazy. I'm crazy. We're all crazy. We'll all lose our minds sooner or later. We're all slipping into insanity and we don't even know it._

The men slowly lowered their rifles, as the squad leader stood up, supported by the medics that came to help.

"Let's move forward. Let's go!" He ordered. Tommy picked up his M16 and took one look at it, and began walking after half a second. They then stopped after a few minutes of walking.

"Alright men! We'll set up camp here!" The men had rushed to work, and in half an hour, camp was set up. Tommy was still thinking about the kill earlier as he sat in the tent with scout. The men had gotten food supplies after setting camp up was finished, so Scout was digging in, while Tommy didn't take a look at his C-ration. Scout noticed something was wrong and stopped eating for a second.

"Tommy, is this about the kill from earlier today?" Scout asked. Tommy took a moment before answering.

"Yeah. I- I can't stop thinking about it. I can't believe I actually did that. I understand I would've had to do it sooner or later, and it happened but, I never knew how it would feel to _kill_ someone. At that moment, it was like the whole world fell apart right then and there. I was just a regular teenager in the states, but here... I'm just a killer. A killing machine. A jolly green giant walking over and blasting the brains out of these innocent people who wanted nothing to do with this little skirmish we have with them." He then took out his combat knife, and saw his reflection on the blade.

"Sooner or later there's gonna be blood on this. And by then I will have lost my mind." The private had put the combat knife away. He sighed, and then slowly stood up. Scout had noticed this.

"Where are you going Tommy?" He asked.

"I'm gonna take a walk."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. You know, with it being dark and with all the snipers..."

Tommy just walked out of the tent with Scout following behind.

Tommy had only taken two steps from camp, and saw the tree he shot at earlier. He walked closer and saw a body. the body of the person he killed earlier. He turned the body over. And saw.. A young girl. At first, he was confused, as he shot a sniper.

Tommy didn't realize this at first, then it finally became clear to him. The little girl _was _the sniper. He had shot an innocent little child. Tommy began shaking again. He started hyperventilating, and he let go of the child's face. Scout had widened his eyes in horror. Tommy began breathing rapidly and sprinted back to camp, with Scout sprinting behind.

Later that night, after all the men went to sleep. Tommy stayed awake a little while longer. He couldn't think. It was unbelievably difficult to comprehend what he did to that little child. The kid that had a life ahead of her. Finish college. Get married, have a few kids, and see her grandchildren many years later. But then, he came in and shot her. Ending her life where it wasn't intended to end. Tommy was the man that killed a husband and wife's own little child, who had been taken away from them, to fight these big, green covered men marching over to annihilate the Vietcong and possibly destroy her home. Which was what they were doing right now. Tommy felt himself drift to sleep. He slowly closed his eyes as he kept in mind, a saying he would remember for years to come.

_The first casualty of war, is innocence._


End file.
